


Peter Parker's not good very bad day

by KMS7801



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, Food Issues, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Protective Harley Keener, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25244215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KMS7801/pseuds/KMS7801
Summary: Peter parker suffered from food issues for as long as he can remember he doesn't let it define him except today he's strugglingWith some help can he survive the day
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91





	Peter Parker's not good very bad day

When Peter wakes up he already knows it’s going to be a bad day, the sheets wrap around his body in just the wrong sort of way and his pyjamas feel stretched around his bloated skin. He wishes just to around and bury his face into the soft fabric of his pillow and fall back asleep. He can hear the faint chatter of Happy and May in the kitchen obviously cooking breakfast, he turns around and groans into his pillow, from the clanks of the stove he can tell Happy is cooking his speciality waffles and Peter just can’t deal with that today. He knows as soon as he sits up and turns around he will be faced with his mirror and he knows he’s going to hate what he sees, he feels so disconnected from himself and he knows today he cant eat fucking waffles.  
When he was 10 he remembers sitting in a police station feeling disgusted, he knew that skip was sitting in the room next door having just been arrested for sexual abuse, he remembers the policeman coming up to May and thanking him for his statement, he remembers May taking him round the corner for waffles, they were the biggest stack hed ever seen and completely covered in syrup, he remembers gorging himself, making sure he eats every last drop and then feeling so full and disgusted with himself he doesn’t even know if his bodies his anymore when he goes to the bathroom he remembers poking his fingers down his throat and pulling out the waffles. Peter remembers that day was supposed to be the end of something but instead it was more like the start. 

He pulls himself up out of bed and carefully pulls off his pyjamas trying not to touch his skin so that he would feel how bloated he felt, he digs around his bottom draw for the clothes he needs when he doesn’t want to think about food ever again, an iron man hoodie specially bought in the size 2xl and drawstring pants which he can alter the waist size depending on how he’s feeling.  
He pads into the kitchen putting on a brave face but as soon as May spots his clothes her face falls, “Do you fancy some fruit? I can cut you up some melon if you want?” Happy notices her tone of voice and piles all the waffles he made onto a plate just for him the portion comically large making Peter gag. 

Over the years he’s created a list of safe foods, ones that don’t want him to make him pull at his skin and shove his hands down his throat, they have to be prepared in certain ways for him to eat them but they make him feel safe and if he’s having a bad day and have to consume some calories then they are the only ones he can bare.

He sits down at the table and eats the hastily cut up melon and May chats in the background and Happy tries to eat the double portion of waffles and Peter tries to be happy.   
“I’ve packed you lunch as I take it your not up to cafeteria food today,”  
“Thanks, May, I love you,” Peter knew he would have never got through these past few years if it wasn’t for her.   
“OK bye, call me if you want picking up,” Peter grinned shouldering his bag and leaving the apartment. 

He walks the well-worn route to school, barely thinking about the corners he turns only pausing to bring out his phone so he can pay for the subway. He tries not to get lost in his thoughts about how many calories he’s eaten this morning and therefore how many he can eat for the rest of the day. Peter remembers when he was 12 and May bought him ice cream before they both knew about bad days and when they got home he googled how many calories there were in it, he can still remember the number to this day. 137. His body didn’t feel like his so he controlled what he put in it.   
Harley greets him at the front of school like normal except today he hesitates when putting his arm around Peter he flinches.

“Hey Harls, sorry im just tired,”  
“OK, you can nap on me in physics if you want,” He smirks, pulling Peter forward into the school, “I know Morg is so excited to see you tonight, she’s got a new captain America costume,” Peter rolls his eyes  
“I know how happy Tony will be about that,”   
“I know right, he’s been in with pepper for days now,” Harley stops in front of his locker and pulls out a bag of cookies, “Morg and I baked these last night for you, Ned and MJ to say thanks for helping her with her project last week.” Peters’s face falls, “What? I promise they’re not poisoned, there was no Tony involved,” Harley looks confused, Peter wants to be normal and take and enjoy a cookie and any normal day he would, except today he just can’t, it’s not in his planned safe foods and his brain is already screaming at him to snatch the whole bag and dump them in the garbage. “Sorry Harls, It’s just that Happy made waffles for breakfast and im stuffed, you know how many he makes.” Harley still looks confused but he puts them back into his locker. “It’s ok you can eat them later but we need to get to physics.”

Peter collapses into his seat in physics with a sigh of relief he can just shut his brain down for an hour without having to worry about anything.   
“Hey Harls im beat, I'm going to have a nap wake me if anything big happens,” Harley looks down worried but Peter just turns away burying his head into Harley sweatshirt and breathing in the comforting smell. He ends up drifting and snoozing his way through the next three classes, being tugged too and from places by Harley who schedule luckily lines up with his. The final bell buzzes and peter startles awake realising with an ounce of dread that its lunchtime.

They both sit down in their seat while MJ and Ned arrive both from there respected classes. When Peter pulls out a box of lunch instead of taking his card up to the line Harley startles, “Dude Tony literally has put $500 on your card the other day cause you got hungry at school why did you bring lunch today?” Peter doesn’t even know how to respond. “May wanted to try out a new recipe and I promised I’d eat it at lunch, Peters excuse backfires when he pulls out a yoghurt, fruit and bag full of peanut butter and rice cakes. “What new recipe is that?” Pete just stares not knowing how to respond, “Hey doofus, stop interrogating webhead,” MJ smacks Harley over the head and sends a meaningful stare at Peter. Ned and Mj sit down opposite and starts chatting as Peter looks back down at his lunch, they are all his safe, low calorie and they taste good and normally he would have no problem eating them but today his stomach rolls just looking at them and his brain screams that he needs to take control. “Hey, Pete you doing good?” He looks up at Ned who had been there all throughout his eating disorder and his recovery, “Yeah man I’m ok,”   
“Could I have your peanut butter it’ll go great with my sandwich.” 

Peter hands it over confused but as he looks back down at his lunch he feels a lot more settled, he realises that Ned knew it was a really bad day and he doesn’t eat peanut butter on really bad days, Peter then eats to stomach the rest of food just grateful that nobody speaks to him or brings up any more food out of meal plan. 

When he gets in the car with Harley to go to Tony’s penthouse he finally relaxes, Tony always leaves snacks out so that Peter can grab him himself so he doesn’t have to worry about trying to stomach something and he will be back with May for dinner, May always makes this complex pasta dish that he can never work out how many calories are actually in it so he can somehow eat it fine.   
However, when he gets to the tower he will swiftly realise his plan will go to shit. 

“I promised Morgan will play tea parties, I know you’ll want to go to the lab but shes been bugging me all week,”   
“Its alright Harls, Tony will see me later I’d love to play,” They push open the door to Morgans room and to nobodies surprise she’d already set everything up, there were iron man dolls and dinky china cups but to Peters horror in the middle of the table is a plate of cookies. “PETEER, HARLLEEY,” Morgan runs over to them and almost knocks Peter over in a hug, “I haven’t seen you in forever,” Peter laughs, “Its only been three days Morg.”

She frowns her tiny lip pouting, “That’s too long, now come play tea party,” Peter sits down and dutifully plays, he takes a cookie, he doesn’t want Harley on his case about food for a second time that day and he knows he has to finish it. He can’t even really taste, it sticks to his mouth like glue and wallpaper paste. He swallows it and almost dry heaves. It makes it 100x worse he wasn’t planning to eat a cookie today, especially as its not a store-bought one so he has no idea what’s in it. His mind whizzes over the calories that could possibly in it, he panics wanting to flee but he keeps playing for the sake of Harley and Morgan. 

“Hey kids,” Tony sticks his head around the door,  
“Peter your aunt called your eating here for dinner and its ready, I even made it for once so you all better be impressed.”   
“What are the odds its pasta, you always cook pasta old man,” Harley grins back at him. Peter is just frozen, this is way out of the left-field, now he has to a whole dinner he didn’t plan for, he’s already stressed from the cookie and now he has to a whole dish of pasta his worst fear food in front of people without being warned. 

Peter walks to the dining table in a daze and sits down in front of a heaping portion of creamy carbonara pasta laden with cream, egg and cheese. He knows with his size portion it would be bordering into the thousands. Everyone starts eating and making polite conversation about school, Peter takes singular strands and scraps the sauce of and chokes them down ignoring his body screaming at him.   
Suddenly he looks up and realises everyone is looking at him oddly, “Pete,” Tony looks worried, “I’ve been calling your name for the past minute, Is everything ok.” And Peter doesn’t even know how to begin to answer the question he just can’t seem to stop himself standing up and grabbing the bowl of pasta and launching it at the wall. 

Time seems to stop as the bowl of creamy pasta drips of the wall, broken bowl falling to the floor. Tony stands up and grabs Peter arm gently and walks him down to the lab and pushes him down onto the sofa and crouches down in front of him just as he bursts into tears.   
Tony lets him cry for a fear minutes while rolling his hands through his hair before he pulls back, “What’s up bud?” Peter just breaks down,  
“Im so sorry about your wall, and that pasta probably took hours to make, I’ll clean it up,”  
Tony looks back at him “Hey bud im not worried about the pasta, Im worried about you.”

Peter looks up and nibbles his lip. “I have food issue, umm, May thinks its probably like anorexia but I’ve never been officially diagnosed or anything, but today I just felt gross and I have to have planned my calories and what im going to eat to feel safe, and I only have certain safe foods.” Peters to take a breath and looks up worriedly at Tony but he just pulls him into a hug.  
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know but you can tell me all about it and we can everything sorted. Im sorry about the pasta, what do you want me to make you instead?” Peter thinks quickly about what his brain would let him eat, “Plain rice and soy sauce? But just a small portion.” 

“Ok bud,” Tony pulls him into one last hug, “Will you tell Harley,” Peter knaws on his lip, “When im ready,” Tony seems to accept that answer and pulls him back upstairs where both Morgan and Harley have finished their pasta and cleaned up the wall. Tony goes to the kitchen to make the rice and Peter collapse on the sofa when Harley walks in, “What was that about, are you ok?” Peter is way to drained to explain again “Im ok Harley I was just stressing about finals and im tired,” Harley seems to accept this explanation and lies down on the sofa pulling Peter into his chest and stroking through his hair, Peter feels so contented just breathing in his scent listening to Tony bustle in the kitchen.

Yes he has food issues but that doesn’t define him.

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe I'll make a series with Peter and Harley getting together or Tony helping out more


End file.
